In the macho Chechen Republic, mixed martial arts (MMA) ranks as a de facto national sport. The nation’s 40-year-old dictator, Ramzan Kadyrov, is wild about in-ring combat. A number of Chechen fighters have stepped up to the big time and signed with America’s premier MMA fighting league, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

After signing up with the league, Chechen flyweight Magomed Bibulatov was sent off with a lavish meal hosted by strongman Kadyrov. There’s little likelihood that the fighter will air Kadyrov’s views while on UFC telecasts. But HBO Real Sports has no such qualms.

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On Tuesday, the show will feature a report on Kadyrov and his passion for MMA. Correspondent on the segment David Scott got him to sound off on topics that Bibulatov will no doubt skirt during post-fight interviews.

Asked about the “alleged roundup, abduction, and torture of gay men in the Republic,” Kadyrov didn’t pull any punches: “We don’t have those kinds of people here,” he said. “We don’t have any gays. If there are any, take them to Canada. Praise be to God. Take them far from us so we don’t have them at home. To purify our blood, if there are any here, take them.”

Scott followed up by asking Kadyrov about accounts of dayslong torture sessions suffered by young gay men. “They are devils,” Kadyrov replied. “They are for sale. They are not people. God damn them for what they are accusing us of. They will have to answer to the Almighty for this . . . America is conducting an anti-Russian policy against the country’s leadership. They know that I’m ready to give my life for Russia, and that I have a good army capable of attacking and defending. We’ll see how things go for everyone.”

Nor did Kadyrov seem cowed by any thought of American intervention. “America is not really a strong enough state for us to regard it as an enemy of Russia,” he said. “We have a strong government and are a nuclear state. Even if our government was completely destroyed, our nuclear missiles would be automatically deployed. We will put the whole world on its knees and screw it from behind.”